Gansett After Dark Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Always so polite.”
    Sarah’s heart beat quickly and erratically. She’d spent many a sleepless night wondering if she’d ever be close to him this way, if she’d ever have the courage to try again. But hearing he loved her… Well, that changed everything.  
    “Is this okay?” he asked softly as he continued to place kisses strategically on her face.
    She nodded because that was all she could do. The anticipation reminded her of a long-ago time when she’d looked upon a young air force officer with stars in her eyes, thinking the sun and the moon rose and set on him. For a while, they had. For a short while, everything had been perfect.  
    “Don’t think about the past, Sarah,” Charlie whispered. “Think about the future we’ll have together.” His lips skimmed over hers in a caress so fleeting she almost missed it. “Think about how great it’s going to be once we get you free of the past. Can you do that?”
    She wanted to so badly. She’d never wanted anything more than to grab hold of the life he envisioned for them. “I want to try.”
    “I want to help. In any way I can. You’re stuck with me now, sweet Sarah.”
    Stuck with him . She expected to feel trapped and imprisoned the way she had before, but she was well aware that in this case, all the choices were hers to make. “I like being stuck with you.”
    “Good,” he said with a small grin. He leaned in closer, moving slowly so as not to startle her.  
    She appreciated the care he took to ensure her comfort, even if some parts of her were very uncomfortable. The heat of desire that zinged through her veins was a revelation. It’d been so long since she’d felt anything resembling true desire that it took a moment to recognize the sensation for what it was.  
    With only a half inch separating his lips from hers, he seemed to be waiting for something. He was waiting for her.
    Summoning the courage that had eluded her for so much of her life, she shifted ever so slightly, closing the remaining distance until her lips pressed to his.
    A noise that might’ve been a groan came from inside him, but he didn’t move or react or do anything else that might scare her away. Rather, he let her decide how this first, most significant kiss would happen by remaining perfectly still and giving her full control.  
    Sarah placed her hand on his face and slid her lips over his. “Charlie…”
    “What, honey?”
    “Kiss me back.”
    “Are you sure?”
    She nodded as her heart beat erratically.  
    He placed his hands on her face and kept his eyes open, probably gauging her reaction, before he laid his lips lightly on hers.
    Sarah wrapped her hand around his wrist and tried to remember how to do this. She wanted so badly to give him what he wanted, what he’d waited so long to have from her.  
    His lips moved slowly over hers.
    Sarah whimpered, and the slight noise had him pulling back.
    “Are you okay?”
    She nodded. “Don’t stop.”
    He smiled at her and resumed the sweet, slick slide of his lips over hers.
    “Charlie…”
    “What, honey?”
    She loved when he called her that. “It’s okay if you want to, you know… Do more.”
    “Hmmm, more . Like this maybe?” He ran the tip of his tongue over her bottom lip, back and forth until Sarah thought she would explode from the desire his kisses stirred in her. “You’re trembling.”
    “Not because I’m nervous.”
    “No?”
    She shook her head.
    He reclined on the sofa and patted the spot next to him.
    Sarah eyed the cushion and then shifted her gaze to his face. He looked at her with love and affection and amusement. Then she zeroed in on his lips.
    “Sarah…” He reached out to slide her hair through his fingers. “Let me hold you.”
    Because she wanted that so badly and trusted him so totally, she stretched out next to him, appreciating that he’d thought to give her the outside so there was no fear of feeling trapped.  
    He put one arm around her and encouraged her to